Page 17 of Be Your Somebody
She pulls on her bottom lip while she thinks about my offer. Avery’s face comes to the forefront of my mind, but I push her away. This is a complete dick move, some would say toxic, but I just want to forget everything right now. Something tells me Giselle is theperfectsolution to my problems. She checks me out again before returning her hunger-filled eyes to meet mine.
She saunters up to me and leans into my ear. “It's your lucky night. I'm looking for a good time and Idon'tdo boyfriends,” she whispers before scraping her teeth on my earlobe, causing my dick to twitch. We barely made it into the car before she whispered everything she wanted to do to me. My tires squeal with how quickly I pull out of the parking lot.
We made it to my house in record time and I noticed my grandparents’ car was missing from the driveway. I thank my lucky stars. We make our way up the stairs as we pull each other’s clothes off, exploring each other with quick intensity. Giselle is proving to be exactly the distraction I need.
I had no idea what trouble she was about to cause. Had I known, I would never have gone through with it.
Chapter 12
Avery
Breakfast and a show
Isleptlikeabsolutegarbage and I’m starting my day in a foul mood. My fight with Cas feels like one of those annoyingly catchy TikTok songs that gets stuck in your head. I lay in bed feeling dumbfounded, attempting to piece everything together.
My stomach grumbles, interrupting my internal crime-mapping of the emotions displayed on Cas’ face and the meaning behind them. The shock of the cold floor startles me and jumpstarts my energy. I quickly find my favorite pair of pink slippers that have since lost their fuzziness due to how ancient they are. I haven’t had the heart to throwthem out as they were my mom’s. Wearing these old, dull, slightly rough slippers keeps me connected to her. Despite their age, they are still intact and haven’t fallen apart. My arms stretch above my head and I hear the slight pops of my body, waking up due to being stiff from sleep. I need some coffee. Maybe it’ll have the answers to my many questions.
The sweet, savory smell of hazelnut consumes my kitchen. As I breathe in the nutty aroma, my mouth begins to anticipate the joy of a fresh cup of coffee.
Something about the silence of an early morning just does something for me. I love listening to the birds chirp their morning hello while the trees dance softly in the wind. Memories of my dad and I sitting on our porch come to the forefront of my mind, leaving me feeling heartsick. Dad’s cup consisted of black, sludge-like coffee, whereas my mug had marshmallows with a splash of hot cocoa. We spent hours sitting and watching the birds flutter between trees while discussing our day. Tears prick behind my eyes and a sad smile stretches across my face. Those were—and will always be—some of my favorite moments with my dad.
My moment of peace is rudely interrupted by the sharp, shrill sound of my phone ringing from the table where I tossed it moments earlier. There’s only one person who would call so early. I let out a sigh and hit the answer button without glancing to see who it was. “Hi, Bri,” I say, putting the phone on speaker and placing it on the counter while preparing my breakfast.
“Someone’s up early. Have some sexy dreams about a certain next-door neighbor?” she teases.
“More like tossing and turning, trying to figure out what happened yesterday. Our fight was like days ago, Bri. My head is spinning and I’m so confused.”
“Maybe it has nothing to do with you?” she asks.
“Who else would it be about, though? He saw my face for two seconds before stomping off. Did Max maybe say something to him to get him all upset?”
“Ugh, classic miscommunication trope. Figures. Max didn't say anything to me about it. He stayed over last night, so let me get him and you can ask him,” she responds.
“Miscommunication what? Wait, No, you do—" I start to say, but she already calls for him. The sound of muffled voices fills the background before I hear Max’s voice through the phone.
“Hey, hot stuff! Something going on with your man?” he asks.
Bri and Max are insufferable by themselves, but when they are together, their insufferability only amplifies. “Youknowhe's not mine!” I shout.
“Sure, sure, but you want him to be. What did Mr. Boytoy do?” he asks.
“Did you say anything to him before I came to the door? When you left, Cas looked at me with a wounded expression before storming off.” I crossed my fingers and hoped he had the answer to Cas’s strange behavior.
“Nope, not really,” he replies, then recounts his entire exchange with Cas. Any hope for answers popped like a knife to an air mattress. Ugh, this puts me back at square one. Whatever crawled up his ass yesterday puts us back in the same cycle we’ve been in for years.
“Ave, are you still there?” Bri asks, jolting me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m still here,” I replied.
Bri chuckles. “You didn't hear what I said. I asked if you could talk to him about it. You two circle each other like a hawk stalking its prey. I don’t know what’s so complicated about all of this. When you talk to him, you’ll get your answers. Boom! Problem solved. Then y’all can finally hook up and end thiswill they or won’t theygame,” she says.
“I’mnothaving sex with Cas, Bri. But I guess I could ask him about what happened yesterday. I mean, how else am I going to find out? This man is so locked up emotionally that I have to force it out of him sometimes.”
“Good, now go do it before you chicken out. I demand to know what happens. Oh, gotta go. Be bold, Avery. Max says bye, too, by the way. Oh wait, one more thing,” she says.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Have you looked into that songwriting competition? I think you could win, Ave. You have such a gift with words; the world needs to know.” Shit. I’m naive to think she would have forgotten the contest.
